"Tano Simonato points one of fifty oils at every plate — a Milan star since 2008. Book it for a quiet anniversary."
About Tano Passami l’Olio
Tano Simonato cooks almost without butter. The fat that finishes his plates is olive oil, a specific extra virgin pulled from a cellar of more than fifty and matched to each dish for weight and bitterness the way another kitchen reaches for a sauce. He has worked this way since opening on 31 October 1995, and in 2020 moved the room to Via Francesco Petrarca 4, in Milan's Pagano district near Parco Sempione. The MICHELIN Guide first starred the kitchen in 2008 and still lists it.
For more of the city's tables, compare the inventive menus at Contraste, the classic cooking at Il Luogo di Aimo e Nadia and the modern plates at Lume. For the category, see our fine-dining guide.
The Kitchen
The oil is not a garnish; it is the seasoning. Simonato keeps Ligurian, Garda, Sicilian and Apulian bottles and reads each dish before he pours: a delicate fish wants a soft, grassy Ligurian; a bitter green or red meat takes a peppery Apulian that catches the back of the throat. The bottle shifts a plate as much as the salt does.
The cooking plays with familiar shapes built from unexpected parts. The dish the Michelin inspectors flag is the tiramisu of cuttlefish and potatoes — the dessert's layered structure rebuilt savoury, cuttlefish standing in for sponge and potato for cream. Dessert proper is the almond cannoli: ricotta-and-almond mousse, candied lemon, chocolate, citrus cream. The set tasting runs around €110, or you compose your own courses from the carte. It is restrained, technical cooking, with lightness the whole point and the oil doing the work most kitchens hand to butter.
The Room
The restaurant is small, seating about twenty-six across three spaces: two rooms on the main floor and a wine cellar below. The look is classic but modern, quiet and elegant rather than showy, suited to conversation and a long, unhurried meal. Service is attentive and explains the oil pairings as the courses arrive. It sits on Via Petrarca in the Pagano area, west of the centre near Parco Sempione. Reservations are recommended given the small size of the room, and dinner is the main event.
Best for an Anniversary
The small, quiet room and the refined olive-oil-led menu make Tano Passami l'Olio a fitting anniversary or proposal dinner, and a considered choice to impress clients in Milan.
Not for
Skip it if you want fireworks or a big table — this is a quiet, technical room of about twenty-six seats, and the show is on the plate, not in the dining room.
Frequently Asked
Who is the chef at Tano Passami l'Olio?
Tano Simonato — Gaetano — opened the restaurant on 31 October 1995 and has cooked it ever since, moving it to Via Francesco Petrarca 4 in 2020. His method is to match a specific extra virgin olive oil to each plate from a cellar of more than fifty, using almost no butter. The Michelin Guide first starred the kitchen in 2008.
What should you order at Tano Passami l'Olio?
The dish the Michelin inspectors single out is the tiramisu of cuttlefish and potatoes, a savoury riff that borrows the dessert's layered structure. Finish with the almond cannoli filled with ricotta-and-almond mousse, candied lemon and chocolate. Both show the kitchen's habit of building a familiar shape from unexpected parts, then pointing the right oil at it.
Does Tano Passami l'Olio have a Michelin star?
It first won a Michelin star in 2008 and remains in the MICHELIN Guide today, listed for Simonato's olive-oil-led, butter-light cooking. The recognition is for technique — the oil pairings and the lightness — rather than for spectacle in the room, which is small and deliberately plain.
How much does dinner cost at Tano Passami l'Olio?
Expect a tasting menu around 110 euros per person, with the option to compose your own courses from the carte; wine and the oil flight push it higher. It is a special-occasion price for a small, technical kitchen, not a casual dinner. Reserve ahead, because the room seats only about twenty-six.
Where is Tano Passami l'Olio in Milan?
Via Francesco Petrarca 4, in the Pagano district west of the centre near Parco Sempione, where it moved in 2020. The restaurant is small, about twenty-six seats across two rooms on the main floor and a wine cellar below, so book rather than walk in.
Reserve a Table
Reserve at Tano Passami l’Olio
Reservations are recommended given the small room; Tano Passami l'Olio is on Via Petrarca in the Pagano area, west of the centre.
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Practical Information
AddressVia Francesco Petrarca 4, Pagano, 20123 Milan
NeighbourhoodPagano (Via Petrarca)
CuisineCreative Italian
PriceFive-course tasting menu ~€110; choose-your-own option
Dress CodeSmart
SeatingAbout 26 seats over three spaces, with a wine cellar below
ReservationRecommended
